It was chilly and not much of a night for hitting at NewBridge Bank Park Thursday.

But the pitchers had a lot to do with that.

In the end, Delmarva's Steven Brault out-dueled Greensboro's Domingo German and that was the difference in a 3-1 win for the Shorebirds. The game breezed by in two hours and four minutes.

German turned in his third straight standout performance for the Hoppers. He pitched seven innings, his longest outing this season, and threw just 79 pitches, surrendering six hits and two runs. He struck out eight and didn't walk anyone, giving him 22 strikeouts against four walks this season.

"He was outstanding," said pitching coach Jeremy Powell. "He ran into a little trouble in the second inning, but got out of it with a double play. He settled down and threw three pitches over the plate."

German doesn't have anything to show in the win column so far, but Powell said that with continued good performances and going deep into games, "the wins and losses will take care of themselves."

Delmarva scored twice in the second on back-to-back doubles, a single and a fielder's choice. As it turned out, that was enough for Brault, a left-hander who did not pitch against the Hoppers in last week's four-game series in Delmarva. He had a 7.20 ERA coming in, but stopped Greensboro on five hits (none through the first three innings) while striking out nine in seven innings.

"He mixed his pitches well and pitched inside," said Hoppers manager David Berg. "Sometimes you tip your hat to the other guy."

The Hoppers had two good opportunities. In the fourth they loaded the bases with two outs but Felix Munoz broke his bat and grounded out back to Brault. In the eighth, against reliever Jon Keller, Sharif Othman singled and went to third on Kentrell Dewitt's double. Othman scored on Yefri Perez's groundout but Justin Bohn popped out and Juan Avila grounded out to end the threat.

ROSTER: Outfielder Kentrell Dewitt and infielder Rehiner Cordova, who played in 20 games here last season, joined the Hoppers on the road trip … Going on the Disabled List were third baseman J.T. Riddle (sprained ankle but not fractured as first feared) and shortstop Javier Lopez (sprained shoulder).

NOTES: The locker room was filled with roving instructors from the Marlins … Those in for the three-game series are hitting coordinator Jeff Pentland, field coordinator John (J.P.) Pierson and infield coordinator Jorge Hernandez, who managed the Hoppers last year.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.